Wish to use iPod

There's no way you'll use the Prius to be able to control any iPod or any other music player nor see any MP3 ID3 tag info (e.g. song name, artist name, etc.) if you only use the aux jack. That jack has existed for AGES and came WAY before the MP3 file format even existed.

The standard for that jack has no provisions for passing such information or controlling the device.

 

The owners manual lists what iPods are compatible. My shuffle didnt work, but my old 30gb iPod video works. Use the USB port. With Nav it allows you to see the artist/album/genre etc. Not sure about non-Nav cars.

The main flaw is that the system automatically plays anything you scroll to. My solution is to turn the volume all the way off while selecting a song/album. If you have a lot of music it helps to create genres and playlists so you limit the amount of scrolling.

 

If you have a Navigation system, then you have USB (along with AUX). If so, then an iTouch should work also because that is what i am using.

 

If you think our system is bad, then you need to play with Acura's USB system. Initially, i was very impress with my wife's USB integration...it does not play the first song in the list automatically as you scroll like our Prius. Selecting the playlist is easy. HOWEVER, on our Prius, if you have a lot of songs in one playlist, you can scroll UP and DOWN from song #1. On the Acura, you can only scroll down from song #1...so, to hear a recent song you added (say, song #400), you literally have to scroll and scroll and scroll using the knob from #1 to #400. With our Prius, you can scroll from #1 UP to #400 easily.

I don't think that car manufacturers have figured out a perfect system yet. I do hear Ford's SYNC system is good, but have not tried it.

 

There's no way to call the automatic play-when-scrolling a "feature". It's just a messed up interface. Let's say you decide to change albums, you have to scroll to get to anything beyond your 5th album, but when you start scrolling it automatically starts playing the 6th album. Same problem with songs. Nothing should start playing until you select it, just like how the iPod interface works.

And trying to scroll backwards doesn't work very well if you have a lot of songs and albums. Mine basically locks up if you scroll backwards. It's a clunky system compared to the elegant and efficient iPod itself.

 

I use my Ipod touch 4G connected through BT and the steering controls work to skip forward or backwards. it starts automatically when I get in the car and pauses when I get out or receive a phone call. I do have the JBL system, not sure if that makes a difference and my model doesn't have the USB connector. Sound quality is fine, I had been using AUX in and found functionality was much better via BT instead of wired.

 

Like all systems trying to read your iPod, you have to give it time for he system to read your whole iPod especially if you have a lot of songs. This is why it momentarily locks up.

 

You made the claim that scrolling backwards is an advantage over other systems. But scrolling backwards locks the system up. It's an unusable advantage.

 

Huh? Locking up is dependent on how many songs you have...and it is momentarily. The wait is still much less than having to scroll thru a million songs one-way.

 

You have the JBL system because your Prius is a IV. The ONLY Prius without JBL is a II.

The next question is...do you have navigation?

 

The iPod should work just fine through the USB port, doing everything you are requesting. I use an iPhone with mine and it usually works, although this is due to the fact that an iPhone is not entirely iPod compatible.

On a side note, my iPhone works much more reliably connected via bluetooth audio than through the USB port. However, with bluetooth I need to use the controls on the iPhone, not the Nav system display.

 

With Iphone, you should be able to use the up & down buttons on your steering wheel to scroll through songs.

 

Both my iTouch 3rd gen and 4th gen work as advertised.

 

So for all of you iPod and Prius geeks...

Is there a version of iPod (orig, nano, touch etc) that the audiobooks work better on? I have a 3rd generation 160gb iPod which works fine with the interface, but my audiobooks start over every time I turn the car off/on. I thought I read that the touch didn't do this. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

Your USB connector should be next to the AUX connector in the back of the center console. I have the same model you do and I have one. I do prefer the BT instead for my 3G Touch. I like being able to take the iPod with me without unplugging it.